Christians

===Eastern European terms===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia has a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia, the geographical area of [[Scythians]] – Christians already lived there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Anton_Kartashev/vselenskie-sobory/|title=Вселенские Соборы - профессор Антон Владимирович Карташёв - читать, скачать|website=azbyka.ru}}</ref> Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially – initially [[Armenia]] (301 AD) and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] (337 AD), later [[Christianization of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] ({{circa}} 864) and [[Kievan Rus'|Kyivan Rus]] ({{circa}} 988 AD).

In some areas, people came to denote themselves as Christians ({{lang-ru|христиане, крестьяне}}; {{Lang-uk|християни|translit=khrystyiany}}) and as Russians ({{lang-ru|русские}}), [[Ruthenians]] ({{Lang-orv|русини, руснаки|translit=rusyny, rusnaky}}), or Ukrainians ({{Lang-uk|українці|translit=ukraintsi}}).

In time the Russian term "крестьяне" ({{transliteration|ru|khrest'yane}}) acquired the meaning "peasants of Christian faith" and later "peasants" (the main part of the population of the region), while the term {{lang-ru|христиане}} ({{transliteration|ru|khristiane}}) retained its religious meaning and the term {{lang-ru|русские}} ({{transliteration|ru|russkie}}) began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language,{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} which strongly influenced the history and development of the region. In the region the term "Orthodox faith" ({{lang-ru|православная вера}}, {{transliteration|ru|ISO|pravoslavnaia vera}}) or "Russian faith" ({{lang-ru|русская вера}}, {{transliteration|ru|russkaia vera}}) from earliest times became almost as known as the original "Christian faith" ({{lang-ru|христианская, крестьянская вера}} {{transliteration|ru|khristianskaia, krestianskaia}}).{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Also in some contexts the term [[cossack]] ({{lang-orv|козак, казак|translit=kozak, kazak}}) was used to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and East Slavic language.